Goodell: Power outage won't hurt city's Super Bowl chances

Monday

Feb 4, 2013 at 9:00 AMFeb 4, 2013 at 9:48 AM

NEW ORLEANS - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday that the 33-minute power outage that occurred at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome Sunday night would not affect the league's opinion of New Orleans and that he fully expects to be back here for future Super Bowls.

WWLTV.com

NEW ORLEANS - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday that the 33-minute power outage that occurred at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome Sunday night would not affect the league's opinion of New Orleans and that he fully expects to be back here for future Super Bowls.

Goodell, at the morning after press conference said he didn't think it would have any impact.

After a resoundingly successful week leading up Sunday's big game, the outage put a smudge on the final outcome, but one that Goodell said could easily be covered up.

"This is clearly something that can be fixed and something that can be prepared for," he said, adding that this would be considered one of the better Super Bowl weeks.

A statement released late Sunday night blamed the outage on an "abnormality in the system."

"Shortly after the beginning of the second half of the Super Bowl in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system. Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue.

"Backup generators kicked in immediately as designed. Entergy and SMG subsequently coordinated start up procedures, ensuring that full power was safely restored to the Superdome.

Doug Thornton, the senior vice-president of stadiums and arenas for SMG, said the outage was a disappointment in an otherwise flawless week.

The city and its rebirth have been the subject of much publicity this past week - almost all of it positive as news and sports journalists remembered why they had almost universally considered the city the top spot for Super Bowls.